


For Nothing.

by Tarnished_Raven



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-01
Updated: 2012-04-01
Packaged: 2017-11-02 20:56:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/373249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarnished_Raven/pseuds/Tarnished_Raven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A coda to 2/10, a tribute to Jenna</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Nothing.

It’s her turn to wake him every hour just to be sure he can be woken. He’s hurting, though it might not be obvious to most. It's a survival instinct, to hide the pain. The little frown between his brow, fine tension in the lines either side of his mouth, even asleep he’s controlling what you see, but she can read him. Only... two more hours til dark, their bird will take flight and no one will see it go, see them help the obviously beaten, badly injured man to get on board. 

They’ll be on a plane headed home as soon as Joe deems it safe, til then at least he’ll get some rest. One of the Nine guys is a medic so he has been cleaned up, the blood and dirt and sweat wiped away, burns cleaned and antiseptic liberally applied. For a while there he looked pretty good, but time moves on and she’s watching bruises appear right before her eyes, shadows on skin that aren’t, and it’s horrifying how many there are.

But the worst thing for her is his feet. ‘Cut to pieces’ is the phrase that ricochets around in her head every time she looks at them. Narrow feet with elegant arches and fragile bones. So delicate, a study in frailty. The logic behind removing a prisoner’s shoes is obvious; barefoot they can’t run fast enough to escape, but it's the wanton cruelty involved that she has issues with. But after all, cruel is relative. There are rope burns on the back of his neck and she saw him roll his shoulders and wince, is watching his hands swell with fluid as she sits here, resisting the urge to touch the marks on his wrists, knows he must have been hung by them and how that must now hurt. But she’s cut the soles of her feet before, how many times? On rocks, coral, broken glass; they’re so weak, a complicated arrangement of tendon and bone beneath so thin a covering of flesh, and yet they carry everything, they carry _you_.

“Hey.” He’s awoken and is watching her watching him and the smile’s a bit crooked and a lot sad, but it’s there which is what matters. It makes her jump because she wasn’t expecting it and the smile she returns is a little rueful in acknowledgement of her lack.

“You want some water?” The bottle is right there and it tastes of home. Joe said he could use hydrating, but he doesn’t want any more right now, shakes his head and then pays for it, wincing.

“We got time. Get some rest.” 

“Can’t.” He’s moving a little, trying to find easement, though it’s all but impossible. But he finds a position that’s somewhere between bearable and tolerable and settles for it, which is foreign territory for him, she can see it in his eyes, how he hates to compromise even this. “Thinking about Jenna.” That fine tension is back in his face but the pain’s not physical.

“Don’t.” It snaps out before she can stop it. “She played us. You.” Of course, she’d never wish anyone dead, but it’s hard to feel sad when you’re staring at the evidence, at the burns and cuts and blood, even if it was washed away a couple of hours ago and you’re viewing ghosts.

He shakes his head again, carefully this time, lifts a swollen finger to a swollen lip and dabs at the cut there. “Jenna thought Josh was alive.” he said slowly. “Wo Fat did a good job, he played _her_ , he gave her hope.”

“Still...” She’s not ready to forgive and wonders distractedly how he can. He’s the one who bled for the lie and yet he’s all ready to pardon her? 

“When... when she was in with me, chained up.” he says and now she can see there’s a struggle. He’s exonerating her with these words, in this moment. “She was telling me about the night he proposed. How he came off his bike, ended up in hospital.” It’s a halting speech as he’s dredging up the words and they’re mixed with emotions still just a bit too raw to be calmly expressed. “Ended up with pins in his knees or something, I don’t know, I wasn’t paying her much attention right then. I was still mad. But then Wo Fat’s guy came in with the satellite phone. She’d tossed it out a window, I think so they didn’t know she’d made a call. She knew when she saw it. She knew he was going to... She gave me the tool I needed to get loose.” he says and there’s moisture in the corners of his eyes that he’s not trying to wipe away. “She said it wasn’t for nothing. He... he shot her dead, just... dead.” He pauses for a second, gathers himself. 

“The Seals said... said they saw Josh’s body. He’d been dead for days...” That tension’s back and there’s sorrow in the darkness. He whispers, “What she gave me was a surgical pin.” He looks up suddenly, and pins _her_ with his gaze. “See? In the end... in the end, she was ours again. That’s what counts. Not being led astray, but knowing where you belong. In the end.” He nods in affirmation and in doing so, gives Jenna absolution. “And she’s with him. With Josh. It’s not perfect, but it counts for something I hope.”

Oh God, really? She... she... did _that_? But he’s right, she earned redemption. If she hadn’t called in the first place and maybe that was when she found Josh was dead, it fitted. But if she hadn’t, Steve would be somewhere they’d never have been able to reach him. Or dead. Same thing. Kono feels a bit sick, but she’s nearly forgiven Jenna too. "She called us." She nods and sees the tension in Steve’s face lessen and now he simply looks tired again. So yeah, maybe she can forgive her. If he can... She offers the water bottle and this time he accepts, taking careful sips with clumsy fingers. “Rest now, yeah?” she invites.

It’s going to be fine, they’ll be out of here soon and on their way home. Steve will get better, the scars will heal and the memories, like the bruises, will go from dark and bloody to something faded. And though his ability to trust may be compromised, and their collective suspicions permanently raised, Jenna was right, Steve was right. It was never for nothing.


End file.
